Manage your Stress with Healthy Sleep Habits and Acupuncture

Stress is a problem for a growing number of Americans. We live in a world that expects you to hustle as much as you can, and avoid taking care of yourself.

When it comes to your life stress, there isn't anything you can do to stop stressful things from happening in your life, but you can make strides towards responding to them in a way that makes them less stressful overall.

There are two categories that you can work on to help yourself be more able to deal with the stress in your life: getting a full 8 hours of sleep on a regular basis, and giving acupuncture a shot.

When you don't sleep well - or at all - you will have a stronger negative response to the most minor of stressors, and you'll struggle to be happy about the exciting things.

Not only does acupuncture help with the physical effects of stress - sore muscles and headaches - it can also help you get a better night's sleep by decreasing the reaction to stress. This was tested on rats in 2015, using a pressure point that rats and humans share to see what the stress response was.

Acupuncture may also help your body help itself to sleep for longer lengths of time and spend more time in the rapid eye movement (REM) stage of sleep by helping your body to release melatonin regularly through the night.

When it comes to sleeping well, you should figure out when your mattress was purchased. If it was more than 8 years ago, it's time to start comparing different types of mattresses for purchase. Having a comfortable and supportive mattress is one of the most important things when it comes to getting a good night's sleep.

You should also try and keep your electronics, and your work, out of your bedroom. Electronic screens like the ones on your cell phone and laptop emit blue-spectrum light that tells your brain to wake up and pay attention. Having them within easy reach also makes you more likely to grab them in the middle of the night when you can't sleep - which will make it harder for you to sleep.

If you find that you are having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep on a regular basis, you may want to visit your doctor and make sure that there isn't an underlying sleep disorder or injury that's causing the sleep troubles. You may want to do this before you see a certified acupuncturist, just in case the treatment could aggravate the issue. You can help show the issues you're having by keeping a sleep journal for a few weeks beforehand.

Things to track in your journal:

When you went to bed;

When you woke up;

What caused you to wake up;

How you felt when you woke up;

If you weren't ready to wake up yet, were you able to get back to sleep?; and